You mean a meal at the new restaurant at Amanera costs >$500pp?
As a rabid Amanjunkie (yes this is a thing), I’ve never found the food at any of the Aman properties to be the highlight of the stay. Sure, the surroundings, design, and service at all the Amanresorts are exquisite and sublime, but the food? Well, the food offerings at Amanresorts are almost always competent, but rarely as breathtaking as the other aspects of the property.
Hey, don’t shoot the messenger!
Oh, please accept my apologies, for that was not at all my intent. It’s just that the article you linked did not mention anything about the restaurant or the food at this resort.
On the non-food side, I was actually offered ownership options in the Villas in Amanera a while back, so I know about this property. I just didn’t know (and still don’t know) if the food culture of Aman will change at all with this newest acquisition…
Oh, I didn’t take it personally and no apology necessary. Every link I looked at gave different restaurants. I think I picked that one cause of the “purty pitchers” 
Was at Zoe not but a month or so ago … and found the food there QUITE delicious.
We were at Amanjena a few years back, fully expecting to find local Moroccan dishes at the restaurant. But then we found out that the was a “Chef Swap” between Amanpuri & Amanjena (this was back when Mr. Zecha was still running the outfit, and encouraged Aman employees & staff to try out all the other Amans away from their home properties).
Long story short: Our ensuing authentic Thai meal in Marrakech was quite memorable (though the Quixotic-ness of it all probably had more to do with this indelible event than the food)…
Another wonderful meal at n/naka last night. The highlights were not so much individual dishes as was the quality of every single piece of fish that was brought to the table, both raw and cooked. Low lights: a risotto with foie that didn’t really hit the mark and a pear/walnut themed dessert that wasn’t too exciting. Regarding risotto: my friend who has a bonafide gluten intolerance was given a risotto with all of the fixings associated with the famed abalone pasta. It was genius and superb. Jeffry and crew on point as usual. Niki continues to be way more humble than she needs to be. And as we were walking out the door, we asked to be put on the wait list for a two top in December. Nothing like it in LA, and probably the best way to spend 3.5 hours in town.
is she not serving her spaghettini with abalone anymore?
She still is. I am going to make an assumption here. Since I have gone to n/naka for a while now and was a very regular diner at Azami, Jeffry has occasionally offered me an alternative to the pasta. For example, once it was a really sublime oyster orecchiette. But at the end of the day, nothing beats that OG pasta. I wish it was AYCE.
Amen.
I have a feeling that it’s always gonna be on the menu, as it has become her signature dish.
Had it about 2 weeks ago.
Correct me if I’m wrong. But I thought OP was stating they were served risotto instead of pasta because a diner was gluten-intolerant?
[quote=“djquinnc, post:109, topic:3857”]
Niki continues to be way more humble than she needs to be.
[/quote]That is an interesting assessment of her personality. She is praised for her humility. But maybe she’s a little too humble??
Anyway, I continue to be a fascinated voyeur of Niki and her N/naka. Thanks for the report of another exceptional meal.
Look at you… sneaky devil.
It was a compliment.
Niki and company really outdid themselves last night. Highlights: kabocha squash soup, foie with persimmon, uni pasta, and beef with house preserved black garlic. And this sauce at the bottom of our cod dish that my dining companion were desperately trying to scoop with with our spoons. Everything that that l love about Niki and her food was upfront and center. Continues to be the best place in town to spend three hours or just so just kicking back and enjoying delicious food.
There isn’t much else to say that hasn’t already been said. The best meal we’ve had in LA. Hoping to secure another reservation in the near future. Everything was delicious, pristine and memorable.
Each piece of sushi was amazing. We loved the fish to rice ratio. Smaller pieces than most any other sushi place we’ve ever been to but among the best - uni, scallop, toro and squid were spectacular. The other standouts were the clam and truffle pasta, A5 wagyu and foie gras with eel and strawberry. We ordered some supplements - another round of sushi and the pasta. The 2nd round of sushi was different than the first round but just as good. We asked for extra uni, scallop and toro but they didn’t have enough as they needed to save some for the 9pm reservations.
Everything went well with the $80 Born Gold sake. Thanks to others on the sake thread especially Beefnoguy. I know very little about sake but I know Born had been recommended.
Glad you liked Born Gold, it’s very easy to get into and like, and with a ~ x2 markup (~$40 retail or less), it’s a reasonable purchase for the meal, though not my personal favorite.
If you or anyone else can post a picture of their sake list, I can definitely recommend something from their lineup that might work. Bear in mind I have never eaten at N/naka (someday…someday…) but I can probably guess the flavor profile from the style and pictures of the food. Judging from their sample sake menu from the website, their sake offerings (particular Junmai Daiginjo) lean more towards aromatic type, off dry to semi dry to lighter flavors (Kun-shu types that are more fruit forward), and arguably some So-shu type sakes might work (light aroma and flavor, to go with more natural tasting simple light flavored food).
I’d be curious to find out what they do for sake pairing (and one can probably order one to share).
I don’t remember all of the sake in the pairing but it was $105. Every single pour was literally to the top of the glass. My friend who had the pairing shared each sake with us.
This is a sample sake and wine menu. I am certain that the 3 under the Junmai Daginjo were available at these prices. I recall a discussion about the Dessai Beyond but that was way beyond our budget.
http://n-naka.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/n-naka.sake_.wine_.list_.july2016.pdf
